NEW YORK, N.Y. – The nationally ranked UMass Dartmouth women's basketball team saw their season come to an end after falling 59-56 against Trinity College (Conn.) on Friday evening in the NCAA First Round hosted by New York University. The Corsairs concluded their historic season with a 24-5 overall record and a 14-2 mark in conference play.
The Corsairs jumped out to a 4-2 lead thanks to senior guard
Amaris Mills nailing the first triple of the game just under two minutes into play. Fifth year captain
Kaylin Zalewski clipped in a pair of three-pointers for UMass Dartmouth to double their advantage to 10-5 with 5:28 left in the opening quarter. Junior guard
Melanie DeMeo added her first bucket of the evening before Mills drained her second triple to make it 15-7. Graduate student
Jane McCauley finished the quarter strong by sinking a late three-pointer to push the Corsairs to a 10-point advantage at the end of the first.
After a quiet start to the second quarter, Mills banked in another three-pointer at the 7:04 mark to make it a 26-15 game. Graduate student forward
Carly Whiteside finished a pair of free throws followed by a good driving layup from graduate student captain
Teja Andrews to pull away with a 30-18 lead. The Bantams tacked on four late points in the half, but Andrews capped off the second quarter with another layup to take a 10-point edge heading into the break.
UMass Dartmouth held onto a 12-point lead early in the third thanks to a triple from Mills and a driving layup by Andrews. Shortly after, Trinity began to climb their way back, going on a 9-2 run to make it a five-point game. Lucy Dorion knocked down a triple for the Bantams to kickstart a 10-2 late in the quarter to give Trinity a 46-45 edge entering the final quarter of the contest.
The Bantams grew their lead to five points with two quick buckets from Kiki Fossbender to make it 50-45. A tough layup by Zalewski cut the Bantams advantage down to two with 7:10 left in the game. With under three minutes remaining, Whiteside gave UMass Dartmouth a brief 55-54 lead with her made free throw and layup, but Fossbender answered to put Trinity back up by one. After Zalewski tied the game up at 56-apecie, the Bantams sealed the win with a pair of late buckets by final score of 59-56.
Andrews (6-12 FG, 2-7 FT) and Mills (5-14 FG, 4-8 3-FG) each ended the game with 14 points apiece for the Corsairs. Andrews finished the contest with a team-high five assists along with seven boards and a steal. Mills wrapped up the game with a game-high four steals with six rebounds, one assist, and a block. Zalewski also scored in double figures with 11 points (4-9 FG, 2-5 3-FG, 1-2 FT) as well as three rebounds and three assists. Whiteside led the Corsairs with her nine rebounds scoring six points (1-5 FG, 4-6 FT), posting a pair of steals, and blocked one shot.
